Tirol (16 March 1987 – August 2007) was an Irish-bred, British-trained
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...
racehorse and
sire
Sire is an archaic respectful form of address to reigning kings in Europe. In French and other languages it is less archaic and relatively more current. In Belgium, the king is addressed as "Sire..." in both Dutch and French.
The words "sire" a ...
. In a racing career that lasted from July 1989 to September 1990 he ran nine times in Britain, Ireland and France. Beginning in September 1989, he won five consecutive races, culminating the following spring with successes in the
Classic
A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or highest quality, class, or rank – something that exemplifies its class. The word can be an adjective (a ''c ...
2000 Guineas
The 2000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) and scheduled to take place each year at ...
Irish 2,000 Guineas
The Irish 2,000 Guineas is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is s ...
at the
Curragh
The Curragh ( ; ga, An Currach ) is a flat open plain of almost of common land in County Kildare. This area is well known for Irish horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is located on the edge of Kildare town, beside the ...
. After two defeats later in 1990 Tirol was retired to stud, where he had some success as a sire of winners. He died in India in 2007.
Background
Tirol was a brown horse bred in Ireland by a partnership of Mrs R. D. Peacock and
Robert Sangster
Robert Edmund Sangster (23 May 1936 – 7 April 2004)
's Swettenham Stud. As a
weanling
A weanling is an animal that has just been weaned. The term is usually used to refer to a type of young horse, a foal that has been weaned, usually between six months and a year. Once it is a year old, the horse is referred to as a yearling.
The w ...
he was sent to the December sales where Mrs Peacock bought him outright by paying 13,000
guineas
The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from t ...
for Sangster's share. The following year he was sent to the Newmarket Highflyer sale where he was bought for 52,000 guineas by the bloodstock agent Peter Doyle on behalf of the
Cork
Cork or CORK may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
***Wine cork
Places Ireland
* Cork (city)
** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
businessman John Horgan, who sent him to be trained in England by
Richard Hannon Sr.
Richard Michael Hannon (born 1945), known as Richard Hannon Sr. to distinguish him from his son, is a former British horse trainer. He was British flat racing Champion Trainer four times, achieved more than a century of victories in a season 20 ti ...
Tirol was arguably the best horse got by his sire Thatching, a top class sprinter who won the
July Cup
The July Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run on the July Course at Newmarket over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres ...
in 1979. His dam Alpine Niece showed little ability as a racehorse, but had a good pedigree, being a daughter of
Great Nephew
Great Nephew was a British thoroughbred who became a champion miler in France. He also became a very successful sire, producing two Derby Stakes winners.Derby
Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...
Shergar
Shergar (3 March 1978 – ) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. After a very successful season in 1981 he was retired to the Ballymany Stud in County Kildare, Ireland. In 1983 he was stolen from the stud, and a ransom of ...
.
Racing career
1989: two-year-old season
Tirol began his racing career in a six
furlong
A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in hors ...
maiden race at Newbury in July in which he was ridden by Brian Rouse. He led a furlong from the finish but was overtaken in the closing stages and crossed the line in third place behind Curia Regis. Eight days later he ran in a similar event at Newmarket in which he started 7/4 favourite, but finished four
lengths
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the Intern ...
second to Batzushka. His next start was at the
St Leger
The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a d ...
meeting at
Doncaster
Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...
, where he contested a Graduation Stakes (a race for horses who had won no more than one race). He took the lead two furlongs from the finish and recorded his first victory by beating Cutting Note by half a length at odds of 10/1. For his final race as a two-year-old, Tirol was moved up in class for the
Group Three
AP Films or APF, later becoming Century 21 Productions, was a British independent film production company of the 1950s until the early 1970s. The company became internationally known for its imaginative children's action-adventure marionette tel ...
Horris Hill Stakes
The Horris Hill Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and geldings. It is run at Newbury over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres), and i ...
over seven furlongs at Newbury. Ridden by
Pat Eddery
Patrick James John Eddery (18 March 1952 – 10 November 2015) was an Irish flat racing jockey and trainer. He rode three winners of the Derby and was Champion Jockey on eleven occasions. He rode the winners of 4,632 British flat races, a f ...
he turned into the straight in third place before taking the lead a furlong out and getting the better of a closely contested finish to win by a head from Robellation.
1990: three-year-old season
Tirol began his three-year-old season with a run in the
Craven Stakes
The Craven Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts and geldings. It is run over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) ...
, a recognised trial race for the 2000 Guineas. He was held up by Eddery in the early stages before being produced with a strong late run to lead in the last strides and win by a short head from Sure Sharp. In the 2000 Guineas over one mile at Newmarket sixteen days later, Tirol started 9/1 fourth choice in the betting in a field of fourteen colts. The undefeated French-trained colt
Machiavellian
Machiavellianism or Machiavellian may refer to:
Politics
*Machiavellianism (politics), the supposed political philosophy of Niccolò Machiavelli
*Political realism
Psychology
*Machiavellianism (psychology), a personality trait centered on cold an ...
was made 6/4 favourite ahead of the
European Free Handicap
The European Free Handicap was a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old horses. It was run over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres) on the Rowley Mile at Newmark ...
winner Anshan and the
Guy Harwood
Guy Harwood (born 10 June 1939) is a retired British racehorse trainer.
Background
Harwood was born in Pulborough, West Sussex, in 1939. His father, Wally made the family fortune with his garage business, founded in 1931. Harwood began riding at ...
-trained Now Listen, ridden by Eddery. Tirol, ridden by
Mick Kinane
Michael J. Kinane (born 22 June 1959, Killenaule, County Tipperary) is an Irish former flat racing jockey. He had a 34-year career, retiring on 8 December 2009.
A prolific winner of the Irish, English and French Classic race ...
moved into contention three furlongs from the finish and took the lead from Anshan entering the final furlong as
Freddy Head
Freddy Head (born 19 June 1947, in Neuilly, France) is a retired champion jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing and currently a horse trainer. Known also as "Freddie", his grandfather was a jockey as was his father Alec Head who also became a succes ...
produced Machiavellian with a strong run. In the closing stages Tirol was driven out by Kinane to hold the challenge of the favourite and win by two lengths. The winning time of 1:35.84 was the fastest electrically recorded time for the race (My Babu's 1:35.8 in 1948 had been hand-timed). Two weeks after his Newmarket win, Tirol attempted to become the third 2000 Guineas winner, following Right Tack in 1969 and the Richard Hannon-trained Don't Forget Me in 1987, to take the Irish 2000 Guineas at the Curragh. Reunited with Pat Eddery he started the 5/4 favourite in a field which included Machiavellian,
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...
and Mr Brooks. Tirol took the lead in the straight but was headed inside the final furlong by Royal Academy before rallying "bravely" to regain the advantage in the last strides and win by a neck.
After five successive wins, Tirol was moved up in distance for the
Grand Prix de Paris
The Grand Prix de Paris is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it ...
over 2000
metres
The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its prefi ...
at
Longchamp Racecourse
The Longchamp Racecourse (french: Hippodrome de Longchamp) is a 57 hectare horse-racing facility located on the Route des Tribunes at the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, France. It is used for flat racing and is noted for its variety of interlaced tr ...
on 24 June. Tirol was towards the rear of the field in the early stages and although he made some progress in the straight he never looked likely to win and finished third, eight lengths behind the easy winner Saumarez. After the race Hannon stated that the "sticky" ground, rather than the distance, was responsible for his colt's disappointing performance. Tirol was brought back to a mile for his next race and started favourite for the
Queen Elizabeth II Stakes
The Queen Elizabeth II Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is s ...
at Ascot in September. He failed to recover his spring form however, and after struggling early in the straight he was eased down by his rider
Willie Carson
William Fisher Hunter Carson, OBE (born 16 November 1942) is a retired jockey in thoroughbred horse racing.
Life and career
Best known as "Willie", Carson was born in Stirling, Scotland in 1942. He was apprenticed ...
and finished eighth of the ten runners behind Markofdistinction.
Stud career
Tirol was retired to the Coolmore Stud in Ireland. For several years he was also "shuttled" to stand in Australia during the southern hemisphere breeding season. in 1997 he was exported to the Capricorn Stud Farm at
Pune
Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...
, India where sired several important winners before dying of
colic
Colic or cholic () is a form of pain that starts and stops abruptly. It occurs due to muscular contractions of a hollow tube ( small and large intestine, gall bladder, ureter, etc.) in an attempt to relieve an obstruction by forcing content out ...
in August 2007. Tirol had had some success as a stallion in Europe, siring the winners of more than six hundred races including the Group One winning fillies Miss Tahiti (
Prix Marcel Boussac
The Prix Marcel Boussac is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to two-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile), and it is sched ...
) and
Tarascon
Tarascon (; ), sometimes referred to as Tarascon-sur-Rhône, is a commune situated at the extreme west of the Bouches-du-Rhône department of France in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Inhabitants are referred to as Tarasconnais or Tarasc ...
(
Irish 1,000 Guineas
The Irish 1,000 Guineas is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is scheduled to ...
,
Moyglare Stud Stakes
The Moyglare Stud Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to two-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres), and it is scheduled ...
).
Following Tirol's death, Richard Hannon paid tribute to the horse, calling him "one of the best horses that we've ever had here. We always held him in high regard, as he was a good, sound horse to have anything to do with, and had a very good turn of foot."